| |
| |
|
Muscle Building Information |
|
|
|
Comeback Bench Program
For those who are not familiar with my name, I am a National Level Strongman competitor in the United States. I lift stones that weigh just under 400 pounds, flip a 900+ pound tire routinely, and lift logs overhead. I eat regular food and drink a protien powder, that's it. My strength comes from my training, and that is why you can benefit from my programs. This program and the weights used are representative of my strength several years ago. Using this and other programs, my strength has soared to new heights, and so can yours! This is a program that I have used in the past when I haven't been lifting for awhile and I wanted to get back in benching shape as quickly as possible. It involves heavy singles 3 or 4 times a week for as long as it works, which is usually 3 to 5 weeks. If you haven't lifted at all for a while, you will need to get a couple of lighter bench workouts under your belt before you undertake this program. With that being said, let me take you with me through the first time I used this program and show you what I learned about it. When I started this program, my previous best shirtless bench was 445. After taking some time off, I couldn't get past 385 for a couple of months. I started this program planning on benching 4 or 5 times a week, or basically as often as I could without overtraining. The first day I warmed up with 135 for a few reps, then 225, 315, and 365. At that point I could feel that I was near my max for the day. Since the idea was to do multiple singles near my max, I did 385 and then a couple more singles at 365. Some days I did no assistance work at all, and others I did some tricep and bicep work. The main program is just heavy near max singles several times a week in the bench press. I repeated that workout 4 times that week and the weight seemed to feel only a little lighter by the end of the week. When Monday rolled around I was able to do 405 for 2 singles, 385 for 2 singles, and 365 for 6 more singles. I got 405 in each of the 3 other workouts that week, but my total number of sets was more like 4 or 5 singles each workout instead of 10. I felt like I might have been able to do a little more weight on a couple of occasions, but I didn't want to overtrain. The next week I was surprised when I pressed 435! I mean, I know I had done 445 in the past, but I was stuck at 385 for a couple months and in only 2 full weeks of this program I was already up 50 pounds! The next day I lifted 440 and I was starting to really believe in this crazy program. I only did one more workout that week and only went up to 405 so that I would be fresh for the next Monday. On Monday, after 3 full weeks on the program, I benched 450 pounds without any supportive equipment. That is a 5 pound all-time personal record, and 65 pounds more than the 385 I had been stuck at for 2 months! I couldn't believe it, and I wanted to stay on this program forever. That's when I discovered that this program was only effective for a short time. It is very difficult for the body to deal with the stress of benching heavy 4 times a week. All of a sudden 405 seemed heavy and it was obvious to me that I had reached the point where I needed to reduce my benching to once or twice a week again. Now I know that common belief is that all programs work for a little while, but let's face the facts: very few programs can boast even a 20 or 30 pound strength gain in a few weeks, much less 65 pounds. I also admit that it is much easier to regain strength than to gain it in the first place. My experience is that although it is easier to regain strength, it is still amazing to be able to break through a plateau and set a personal record in only 3 weeks. Especially when the 3 week increase is 65 pounds! I am currently testing a variation of this program on a friend who is serving in the Armed Forces in the Middle East right now. I will be writing another article about what we learn, when he returns later this year. Until the next time, Lift Hard and Lift Heavy! Aaron Anderton 2001 Washington State USAPL Superheavyweight Champion
MORE RESOURCES:
Build-Muscle - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Debunking the Top Ab Myths Ab training has been done to death but it's time to take another look. Why? Because people are still training their abs wrong so all that ab training information must not be doing the right job. Sneak a Little Intensity into Your Workout You know you're on autopilot during your workouts when, halfway through you're set on the pec dec, you realize you're sitting on someone's lap. It's time to shake things up a bit. Arm Exercises For Beginning Bodybuilders Most people new to bodybuilding pay a lot of attention to building big arms, sometimes to the point of overtraining. Don't forget, the arm muscles are brought into play during most exercises aimed at other body parts so care must be taken not to overdo things. Muscle Building Workouts and Tips: Dos and Donts Packing on Muscle mass involves a lot of dedication and care. At times, trying too hard can have its negative effects too. An Amazing Technique That Can Make Your Gains Skyrocket While Others Have Reached A Sticking Point! If you clearly understand and apply the principles involved in natural bodybuilding, you will experience very rapid muscle gains. However, over a long term, eventually a 'sticking point' or plateau in your training may be reached. 5 Familiar Bodybuilding Troubles...Which Do You Want To Overcome? In my 3 decades of training experience I have identified 5 major bodybuilding troubles or problems. These are:-1 Overtraining. The Ultimate Hard Body Exercise The Front Squat:As you may have already discovered, the squat is at the top of the heap (along with deadlifts) as one of the most effective overall exercises for stimulating body composition changes (muscle gain and fat loss). This is because exercises like squats and deadlifts use more muscle groups under a heavy load than almost any other weight bearing exercises known to man. Always Shock Your Muscles For Maximum Growth Always try to "trick" your muscles into growth. You never want to do the same exercises, reps and sets for each and every workout. Is Your Muscle Building Potential Limited By Your Genes? It is clear that certain traits are handed down to us by our parents and unfortunately our ablility to grow muscles beyond certain limits is no exception. That doesn't mean to say hard work and carefully planned training won't have a positive effect on your physique - it just means that some people will inherit a greater abundance of the favored physical characteristics than others. Deep Muscle Soreness And Body-Shock Fatigue In my experience there are two distinct types of muscular fatigue associated with intense progressive resistance training (only intense training is sufficient to trigger muscle hypertrophy) and these two types should be recognized and understood. The first type of fatigue is direct muscle soreness and is the result of a particular exercise targeting a specific muscle. "Bodybuilding Sins" That Cause Back Pain and Missed Workouts It's one thing for someone who sits at a computer all day and never exercises to have back pain, but for a bodybuilder, someone who spends hours and hours each week pouring everything they've got into building muscle, it should be criminal!The reason we say this is because, if you are going to spend so much time, money, and energy trying to build the "perfect body", you have to make sure that you not only look good, but also feel good?We've identified what we call "Bodybuilding Sins" that lead to back pain, sciatic pain, and other injuries? read em and take action now if you are serious about bodybuilding and are fed up with your back pain.Because there is so much information to share with you, we've broken it down into a series of 5 articles, each covering a different component of how back pain affects bodybuilders. Bodybuilding Benefits - The Price for Confidence! Success came to me at an early age. However, it did not come without a price. The Superset Advantage Supersets give you the most bang for the buck. They give you more muscle in less time, and don't bore you from how long it takes to actually do the exercises. How to Lose the Most Fat and Build the Most Muscle in 30 Days A lot can happen in 30 days.The dream of everyone who trains is to lose maximum fat and build maximum muscle in the shortest period of time possible. How to Increase Your Bench Press by Doing Squats My Legs Are Already Big Enough. I Keep Hearing Working Legs Is A MUST. Six Minute Abs Six minutes out of your day. All you need is a level floor. The MYTH of Gaining Muscle Without Fat! Many of you have expressed concerns about gaining too much body fat while on such a high calorie diet, and wonder if you should do some aerobic exercise to offset the weight gain.Absolutely not. But I Dont Want Muscles! Part 1: What Muscle is, and how to Build (or Avoid) It One of the common comments I hear from my female clients is, "Please don't give me any weights work - I don't want any muscle, I just want to tone." The reasons differ from client to client, but it most often they seem to be based on a misunderstanding of what muscle is, how we build it, what it has to do with weight loss - or some combination of the above. Bodybuilding Protein What helps make comedy also builds muscle?This is key to getting the most out of your bodybuilding protein intake. There's not much point in stuffing down that half chicken and protein shake?only to roll over and have a nap. The Role Of Whey Protein In Achieving Significant Muscle Gain Most bodybuilders would agree that supplementing with whey protein is an important element in achieving serious muscle gains. This article will examine the facts relating to whey protein as a supplement and help you decide whether you need to follow this particular strategy.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
